


Being Toshiro

by Geishaaa



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Crushes, Gen, Manga & Anime, Pairings If You Squint, Puppy Love, Young Love, young Hitsugaya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27059848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geishaaa/pseuds/Geishaaa
Summary: Toshiro held his manga volume tightly in both hands, almost trembling with excitement as one of the bookstore staff members came to the front and stood behind the microphone.“You all know why we’re here,” the man grinned as the teenagers in the front began whistling and roaring. “So without further ado-”Toshiro held his breath.“-allow me to introduce you to-”This was it!“-the incredibly talented-”The moment he was about to meet the legendary Matsumoto!“-author of our favourite manga series-”The man who provided him a fantasy escape through all the years of bullying.“-‘Zanpakuto: Legends of the Seireitei’-”The man who gave him friends when he thought he had none.“-the one and only-”The man who gave him Gin Shinso - an Albino hero to look up to.“-Miss-”The man who-Miss?“-Matsumoto!”Toshiro’s heart stopped as everyone else’s seemed to explode, or at least their cheers did. The small crowd that had gathered were clapping and whistling loudly as the Rangiku Haineko stepped onto the low stage. Rangiku Haineko - in the flesh.
Relationships: Hitsugaya Toushirou & Kurosaki Ichigo, Hitsugaya Toushirou & Kurosaki Isshin, Hitsugaya Toushirou & Kurosaki Karin, Hitsugaya Toushirou & Matsumoto Rangiku, Ichimaru Gin/Matsumoto Rangiku
Comments: 15
Kudos: 34





	Being Toshiro

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LethanWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LethanWolf/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LETHANWOLF! She’s the bee’s knees and one of my favourite people in the world. Here’s some cute Toshiro for you, Bub!

Toshiro held his grandmother’s hand as he bounced along beside her, excitement and nerves flooding his veins.

His freshly brushed hair was no doubt knotting back up, and his clothes were creasing but he was too excited to care. He was wearing his favourite T-shirt today, the white one with the short black sleeves and a large print of a blue dragon on the front.

The mall was busy that Saturday, bustling with mothers running errands, boyfriends dragged on shopping trips and teenagers on group movie dates. Normally Toshiro didn’t like it when the mall was busy, and he really didn’t like seeing the other kids from school there, but today was the seventeenth of October! Today was the day he was going to meet the author of his favourite manga series, ‘Zanpakuto: Legends of the Seireitei’!

It was about a group of shapeshifters that lived in an ancient city known as ‘the Seireitei’, who could call out ‘Bankai!’ and be able to morph between a human appearance and that of their ‘Zanpakuto’ - a magical creature that gave them powers, allowing them to save ordinary humans from monsters known as ‘Hollows’. 

The author, simply known to the readers as ‘Matsumoto’, was a genius! He was due to do a meet and greet at the Karakura Town Mall today and Toshiro had been marking the days off his calendar since the newspaper announcement months ago.

Toshiro had read in a magazine once that Matsumoto used people he knew in real life to draw inspiration when creating new characters, and Toshiro wanted to know who the inspiration behind his favourite character, Gin Shinso, was! Toshiro related to that character more than any character he had ever read in a manga, comic or novel. He was a genius and prodigy too, and cheeky like Toshiro was with friends and family, but best of all, Gin Shinso had albinism, just like Toshiro did. Gin’s Zanpakuto form was a snake that could stretch himself long and strike with deadly force and even more fatal venom, which had only fuelled Toshiro’s love for the reptile.

“My, my, you’ve got ants in your pants,” Granny laughed as Toshiro continued to bounce along beside her. “Don’t drop your little comic.”

“It’s a manga, Granny!” Toshiro huffed, jumping on the pale pink coloured tiles and trying not to touch the grey ones in between or any of the cracks.

Under his arm, and very securely held onto, was the first volume of ‘Zanpakuto: Legends of the Seireitei’. He was hoping to ask Matsumoto to sign it for him, though it wasn’t in the best condition. Some fans collected the manga volumes and kept them in their original packaging so they would grow in value over the years, but Toshiro loved reading it too much for that. His copy was well worn, but he did look after it as much as he could. He hoped Matsumoto wouldn’t think he was poor, even if he did have to save all his chores-earned pocket money to buy the new volumes when they were published.

“Be careful, Toshiro,” Granny warned him when he had to jump particularly far to reach the next pink tile and his glasses bounced on his nose. “You’ll knock your glasses off again and then we’ll have to buy new ones.”

Toshiro stopped jumping then, returning to a normal walk with a pout. Granny didn’t say it but he knew they couldn’t afford a new pair of glasses for him right now. They cost a bomb and Toshiro had already gone through two pairs this year – Granny had been furious when he told her he had broken them playing soccer, but that was better than if he told her the truth that the school bully, Sojiro Kusaka, had broken them. To be fair, Toshiro hated the things. They were so large and thick, they made him look like a dork, or at least a bug. He would ditch them all together if it wasn’t for his incredibly poor vision (thanks again, Albinism) and the fact he was yet to be able to negotiate his eyes into accepting contact lenses.

“Oh there’s Rukia!” Momo, Toshiro’s older sister, chimed in, suddenly appearing on Granny’s other side. She had been walking a few metres behind, nose buried in her fancy new flip phone (that had also cost a bomb but she got it for her birthday).

She pointed ahead to the elegant tea shop they could never afford to shop at. Indeed, Momo’s classmate Rukia Kuchiki was there with her older brother, Byakuya. They were from a wealthy family, but Rukia seemed nice enough at school and when she visited them in Junrinan or at the Kurosakis. She was pretty though, so naturally Toshiro found it hard to say two words to her.

“Can I go see her?” Momo asked Granny, her eyes wide with hope.

“Only to say a quick hello,” Granny told her sternly. “She is having family time with her brother and we have to meet the Kurosakis before the bookstore.”

Momo nodded and with a squeal, ran off towards the tea shop, calling Rukia’s name.

“Remember when she used to like spending time with us?” Toshiro muttered, watching his sister hugging her friend under Byakuya Kuchiki’s slightly annoyed eye.

“Oh she’s just growing up, Sweetie,” Granny chuckled as they walked on towards the food court. “In a few years, you’ll be too embarrassed to hold my hand and will want to run off with your friends too.”

Toshiro scoffed. _Unlikely._

Momo was thirteen now, three years older than him, and was becoming a right pain in the backside. Once the girl that liked to play spinning tops and eat watermelon on the porch with him was now a teenager who never came out of her room and spent all night on the phone to her friends, even though she had seen them all day at school.

_Whatever._ Toshiro didn’t care. He had Gin Shinso and the other Zanpakuto shapeshifters, and they always took him on their adventures.

Carefully, Toshiro pulled the manga volume out from under his arm as he walked. On the front cover was Rangiku Haineko, the main character whose zanpakuto form was that of an ash panther. The panther was drawn on the cover too, walking above Rangiku in the background, blue eyes hungry. Rangiku was cool! She had a lot of layers as a character, and even better, her boyfriend was Gin Shinso! Toshiro flipped open to the page that had Gin Shinso’s first appearance – he was in his human form; Gin had straight hair that flopped almost over his slanted eyes, and he had a cheeky grin as he usually did. He was tall and lean, and carried a book under his arm – not dissimilar to how Toshiro had been carrying the manga just a moment ago.

If Gin Shinso, with his lack of melanin and a know-it-all brain, could get a girlfriend like Rangiku Haineko, maybe there was hope for Toshiro yet.

Grinning to himself, Toshiro closed the manga and tucked it back under his arm. Granny led him into the busy food court, but thankfully it didn’t take them long to find the Kurosakis – they were too loud a bunch to miss.

“Toshiro, my boy!” Isshin attacked him the moment he saw their approach and the boy found himself nearly suffocated to death in a giant bear hug of his family doctor.

“Can’t… breathe,” Toshiro gasped, but his voice went unheard under the chatter of the busy court, his manga volume crushed between him and the burly father.

“Let him go, Dad,” Ichigo’s voice chuckled, deeper than Toshiro remembered it. That had been happening a lot lately – sometimes his voice was deep, sometimes higher in pitch, sometimes wavering even as he spoke. Puberty was _gross_ – Toshiro was dreading it.

Isshin chuckled and let Toshiro go, catching him before he fell over, his brain starved of oxygen for a moment. When he was stable, Isshin picked Toshiro back up, swung him around and dropped him unceremoniously on the bench seat between his daughters, Karin and Yuzu.

Karin smirked at him, and offered him a fry. Toshiro pouted and accepted it as Isshin turned to hug Granny a lot more gently, before pulling out a chair for her at the table.

“We got you a Chappy Meal!” Yuzu told him happily, passing over the brightly coloured box, the handles shaped like bunny ears. “Chicken wrap and apple slices with a lemonade.”

“And a beef udon for you, Mrs Hitsugaya,” Isshin placed a steaming bowl gently in front of Granny.

“Isshin, you shouldn’t have,” Granny patted the doctor’s head, “and how many times have I asked you to call me ‘Shiori’?”

“I’ll never, Mrs Hitsugaya,” Isshin winked at the older woman. “My military discipline wouldn’t allow it.”

Granny pursed her lips and shook her head, a slight chuckle in her throat as she turned to her udon and Isshin looked all too proud of himself.

That’s how they knew him – he had been in the army with Toshiro’s parents and his wife Masaki. Isshin and Masaki had been army doctors while Toshiro’s father was a captain, and his mother had been lieutenant. They had all been friends and had been shipped out to Las Noches together on a ‘peacekeeping operation’ that had ended in a terrorist bombing of the base by the infamous ‘Espada’ group. Three parents never made it home to their children. Toshiro and the twins had been three at the time, Momo had been six and Ichigo eight.

Toshiro didn’t know the full specifics of the story, and he didn’t want to know, but Isshin always told him that he had promised Toshiro’s father that he would look after his two young kids and elderly mother should anything happen to him, and that’s how Toshiro found himself spending most days after school at the Kurosaki household. 

Isshin had retired from the army and set up a medical clinic at his home, and Granny had gone back to work as a receptionist there now that she had her two young grandchildren to look after. Toshiro didn’t mind spending afternoons there; the Kurosaki kids never teased him for his white hair and thick glasses, and had more or less become siblings. Ichigo had been the one to get him onto ‘Zanpakuto: Legends of the Seireitei’, after all.

“Excited, Toshiro?” the older boy asked and Toshiro grinned back. “Did you bring a volume for Matsumoto to sign?”

Toshiro held up his volume and Ichigo laughed, holding up his copy of the same volume. His was neater but certainly not mint condition.

Karin rolled her eyes between them, uninterested in the manga, and reached inside Toshiro’s Chappy Meal box, pulling out the toy that came inside.

“Beach Chappy,” she signed in disappointment, handing back the plastic bunny figurine to Toshiro; it had a swimsuit on, sunglasses and a large brimmed hat. “I have three of that one.”

“I’ll give it to Momo,” Toshiro shrugged, handing it to Granny to put in her big red handbag. “She and her friends are collecting them now.”

“Rukia talks about nothing else,” Ichigo rolled his eyes.

Rukia was Momo’s friend but she was also Ichigo’s ‘girlfriend’, though Karin told Toshiro it really didn’t count because they didn’t kiss, only holding hands on the bus home in the afternoons. She teased Ichigo endlessly about it, while Toshiro had to duck to hide his warm cheeks. See, he kind of wanted to hold Karin’s hand on the bus, but she thought it was lame.

“I want them to bring out a Soccer Chappy,” the dark harried twin sulked.

“You can have my Butterfly Chappy if you want, Karin!” Yuzu held up her toy, a bunny in a butterfly costume. “I have two of her at home.”

Karin groaned.

“One of those is mine!”

“Oh yeah, that’s right…”

Toshiro grinned into his chicken wrap as Karin moaned about too many toy repeats in the Chappy Meals these days, and Yuzu tried to convince her that duplicates were good in case they lost one. Momo eventually returned with news that excited Ichigo – Rukia was going to meet back up with them at the bookstore as her brother had a business lunch to attend nearby.

Toshiro climbed over Karin to sit with Ichigo so they could reread the first chapter of the manga before they headed to the bookstore. Ichigo’s favourite character was Rangiku Haineko of course – she was almost everyone’s favourite as the main character and especially for the older readers who liked how she was drawn; she was impossibly beautiful, prettier than a princess. Ichigo also liked the character Tensa Zangetsu, who was an older man that retained most of his human appearance in his Zanpakuto form, but he was insanely powerful, pulling his powers from the moon’s energy.

Like Toshiro had said, Matsumoto was a genius!

Checking the time on Granny’s watch, Toshiro became too excited to even consider finishing his apple slices – except Isshin threatened him with another hug if he didn’t. As the saying went, _an apple a day keeps the doctor away,_ and Toshiro promptly finished his slices.

Finally – _FINALLY!_ – the moment came, and the combined Kurosaki-Hitsugaya clan were filing into the bookstore. Rukia indeed met them there and she and Ichigo stood at the back so they could hold hands in private (read: away for Karin’s teasing). Less interested, Karin and Yuzu wandered off through the aisles. Toshiro pulled Granny as close as they could get, though there were a lot of teenagers ahead of them who were annoyingly tall. Eventually Toshiro felt himself scooped up and placed on Isshin’s shoulders. It was embarrassing, but at least he could see. 

He held his manga volume tightly in both hands, almost trembling with excitement as one of the bookstore staff members came to the front and stood behind the microphone.

“You all know why we’re here,” the man grinned as the teenagers in the front began whistling and roaring. “So without further ado-”

Toshiro held his breath.

“-allow me to introduce you to-”

_This was it!_

“-the incredibly talented-”

The moment he was about to meet the legendary Matsumoto!

“-author of our favourite manga series-”

The man who provided him a fantasy escape through all the years of bullying.

“-‘Zanpakuto: Legends of the Seireitei’-”

The man who gave him friends when he thought he had none.

“-the one and only-”

The man who gave him Gin Shinso - an Albino hero to look up to.

“-Miss-”

The man who- _Miss?_

“-Matsumoto!”

Toshiro’s heart stopped as everyone else’s seemed to explode, or at least their cheers did. The small crowd that had gathered were clapping and whistling loudly as _the_ Rangiku Haineko stepped onto the low stage. Rangiku Haineko - _in the flesh._

She was even more beautiful in person, and it was clear her features had not been exaggerated. Her strawberry blonde hair was long and hung in loose waves, her eyes were a breathtaking sea blue, and her lips were cherry red. She had legs longer than Toshiro’s whole body, wrapped in tight dark jeans, and a pair of stiletto heels that she shouldn’t have been able to walk in. Her chest was… well, each side was bigger than Toshiro’s head, and she wore a low cut shirt with a necklace that disappeared between her-

She smiled and beamed down at them and Toshiro _died._

How the heck was he supposed to ask that woman to sign his manga? How was he supposed to ask her about Gin Shinso? There was no way he’d be able to speak to her!

“Wow it’s so great to see so many fans here today!” Rangiku Haineko – Matsumoto, apparently – chuckled into the microphone, her voice even smoother than Toshiro had imagined her character to have.

The audience cheered again and Toshiro shook his head. Nope, he couldn’t-

She was too-

And he was too-

_Just nope._

The boy inhaled sharply and moved then, swinging his leg off Isshin’s shoulder and hastily climbing down his back.

“Toshiro, what’s-” Isshin was asking in concern but Toshiro didn’t catch the rest of his question, landing on the bookstore carpet and throwing himself into Granny’s side.

Matsumoto’s voice was muffled too as she continued to talk to the audience, and Toshiro clenched his eyes as he buried his face into his grandmother’s cardigan. He didn’t care that his glasses were askew and digging into his nose, he just wanted to hide.

Granny’s hand landed in his hair and she carded her fingers through gently. She leaned down and brushed back the hair over his ear.

“You’re missing Matsumoto’s talk,” she whispered to him. “She’s talking about how she first got into drawing.”

“I want to go,” Toshiro sulked into her side.

“Why?”

Toshiro kept his mouth shut. Because- _Because, because!_ That’s why.

Matsumoto was a woman, _great,_ but she was a pretty woman and that meant Toshiro was going to stumble over his words and look like an idiot in front of her. She was literally the embodiment of a Zanpakuto shapeshifter and was the most beautiful woman Toshiro had ever seen. She would take one look at his pale skin and even paler hair, and his huge bug glasses and eyes that couldn’t make up their mind if they were pale blue or pale teal (lighting dependant), and think he was the dork that everyone at school said he was. 

What if she treated him like Kusaka from school did?

That would ruin the series for Toshiro and then he would have no fantasy escape, no shapeshifting imaginary friends and no cool art to try and replicate for his bedroom wall. He could try to find a new series, sure, but to find one he liked as much would take time and then to start his collection all over would cost him more money than he had and he couldn’t sell his copies of ‘Zanpakuto: Legends of the Seireitei’ because they were so worn and-and-

_Gods he hated being Toshiro sometimes._

“Stop spiralling,” Ichigo’s voice – the old, higher pitched one – was at his side and a hand clamped his shoulder. “Matsumoto is as big a manga nerd as you and me, she’s going to love you.”

Toshiro poked an eye out of Granny’s cardigan and found Ichigo crouching to his level, grinning knowingly. He knew Toshiro was shy, and even more useless around people as intimidating as _the_ Rangiku Haineko.

Behind him, Rukia beamed at him through hopeful and encouraging eyes and Toshiro ducked quickly back into the cardigan.

Isshin’s chuckle was deep and Toshiro felt the doctor pat his back firmly.

“I was the same at your age, Kid,” he laughed. “Come out and listen to Matsumoto. You’ll regret it if you miss her while she’s in town.”

Toshiro deflated; Isshin was right. He pulled his head away from Granny so he could hear Matsumoto speak. He didn’t need to see her, in fact it was best that he didn’t, and he kept himself firmly attached to his grandmother, ready to hide again if needed.

Matsumoto’s voice was flirtatious and theatrical as she spoke, every bit as dramatic as her lead character. She had a wild imagination it seemed, and that was how she came up with her shapeshifting world and all the plot lines that followed. She talked about her childhood love for manga that turned into a full on fangirl obsession as a teen, and how she was working her dream job now.

She flirted with the audience as they called out questions, and made them laugh and whistle with just her facial expressions (well Toshiro had to assume that, since he couldn’t see her face but people were reacting to something between the pauses in her speech).

Eventually someone near the front asked if she was going to have ‘Zanpakuto: Legends of the Seireitei’ animated one day and Matsumoto laughed.

“I don’t want to give anything away,” she drawled, “but keep your eyes peeled for a certain Fullbringer Studios announcement…”

Toshiro’s jaw dropped and he immediately turned to Ichigo, the orange haired teen looking just as amazed. Fullbringer Studios were arguably the best anime producers in the country!

The crowd roared with delight as Matsumoto giggled like she hadn’t meant to give anything away except that she definitely had. She really was Rangiku Haineko through and through.

She wrapped up her talk then and was ushered to the table behind her where she was to have everyone line up to meet her for a quick question and a signing. Immediately the table was engulfed by excited fans. The bookshop staff struggled to get them to back off and queue up neatly.

Toshiro stayed firmly plastered to Granny’s side and Ichigo hung back too, murmuring there was no point joining the line until it got shorter. Matsumoto was assuring everyone she had time to get through them so they wouldn’t need panic and push.

Granny let him stay tucked into her side, even though he knew he was getting too old to be doing that. He was ten now, and he was never going to get a girlfriend like this.

Karin and Yuzu returned and Karin begged Isshin to buy her the autobiography of her favourite soccer player, which he did immediately, since this was the first book Karin had ever willingly picked up to read.

The queue grew shorter as time went on and groups of people left the bookstore, happy with their meet and greet and their freshly signed manga volumes. Matsumoto did have the time for every single one of them, always asking their name and taking a minute to answer their questions that they had been too nervous to ask in front of the crowd. 

Finally it was down to the last one, and Ichigo moved to approach her.

“Coming?” he asked Toshiro and the boy shook his head quickly, moving behind Granny now as if that would shield him from Matsumoto’s gaze now that the crowd was gone.

Above him, multiple sighs were heard.

“At least let me take your manga up,” Ichigo suggested then. “I’ll ask her to sign it for you.”

Toshiro kept his face buried, but held out the manga volume for Ichigo to take. Scared as he was, he still wanted the legendary Matsumoto’s autograph.

He felt Ichigo take it and heard his footsteps walk off. Isshin’s big hand landed on Toshiro’s head and ruffled his hair.

Eventually curiosity got the better of him, and Toshiro poked his eye out from behind Granny. He saw Ichigo at the table, talking to a smiling Matsumoto. He couldn’t believe how much she looked exactly like Rangiku Haineko’s coloured art – even the small mole by her lip was there!

Ichigo produced the two volumes to sign and Toshiro heard her surprise at that. He couldn’t hear what Ichigo was saying in explanation but a moment later he turned and pointed over to Toshiro, and immediately Matsumoto’s eyes fell on him. Toshiro ducked quickly behind Granny, cheeks furiously hot.

She’d seen him. _Oh gods_ , she had seen him.

That was it, Toshiro was never going in public ever again.

He was mid-mental spiral – the second in the bookshop that afternoon – when he felt a delicate finger tap his shoulder.

“Hello there,” Matsumoto’s upbeat voice called him, now incredibly close. 

Toshiro wanted to die, or maybe just wet his pants.

He was torn between ignoring her so that she would go away, and not wanting to be rude, as his Granny was currently ordering him to with a non-too-discreet smack upside the head.

“My name is Rangiku Matsumoto,” she told him brightly, unfazed by his apparent rudeness. “What’s yours?”

Swallowing, the boy pulled away from Granny’s back just enough so his mouth wasn’t covered.

“T-Toshiro H-Hit-Hitsugaya,” he stammered. He’d never had much of a stutter before, but of course now was the moment he was going to develop one.

“Strong name,” Matsumoto commented happily and Toshiro heard the sound of a marker on his manga.

Carefully, he poked an eye out to see her writing a little message on the front page. Matsumoto was crouching beside him, his manga volume resting on her knees as she scrawled across it. She glanced up at him and caught his eye before he could hide away again.

“Gosh, you have beautiful eyes!” Matsumoto gasped, and Toshiro turned to her in sudden alarm, forgetting for a moment he was supposed to be hiding. 

He panicked and that’s the only excuse he had for what happened next.

“I have Albinism!” he shouted, accidentally and rather loudly, causing a number of startled faces to turn to him. That wasn’t a compliment he normally received from strangers. 

Granny put her hand on his head to calm him and Toshiro blushed bright red. He had no other colour on his face but _sure,_ red could appear on his cheeks when he was embarrassed. Matsumoto took it well though, chuckling delicately and reaching out to rub his arm in an effort to comfort him.

“I know,” she smiled at him, her teeth whiter than Toshiro’s hair. “You look like my lovely Gin.”

Toshiro swallowed as he unconsciously moved a little bit further away from Granny’s cardigan sanctuary.

“Gin Shinso is my f-favourite character,” he told her shyly.

“I hoped you’d say that,” she chuckled before she glanced over her shoulder. “Hey Gin, come here a sec.”

_No way…_

Toshiro’s jaw dropped. From behind an aisle, _the_ Gin Shinso poked his head out, hearing his name.

He looked exactly like his character. Tall and lean, floppy hair that was so pale that under the light it looked silver, that permanent grin that spoke of mischief, the eyes that looked like they were closed though he must have been able to see out of them. He had Albinism, no question about it.

He approached them and Toshiro was staring at him in such surprise, he only vaguely registered Matsumoto taking both of his hands in her own.

“You’re like me,” Toshiro blurted out accidentally when Gin reached them. Everyone around them seemed to chuckle but he couldn’t stop himself. “You don’t wear glasses though.”

Gin’s grin didn’t change as he leaned over until his face was very much in Toshiro’s personal space.

“Contact lenses,” he informed Toshiro, tone playful under a thick, somewhat foreign accent, and a second later those eyelids opened just a fraction, allowing Toshiro saw the red of his irises.

“Look at your eyes,” Toshiro whispered, unable to stop himself. He should have known better that to do that, but he had never met another Albino before.

“Oh I can’t,” Gin smirked wide, cheeky as his character was.

Gin had the pinkish-red looking eyes that some Albinos got. It was more of a trick of the light than actual colouring – their irises actually had very little colour at all and it was the blood vessels underneath showing through.

Toshiro was grateful for his own blue eyes, as weird a shade of blue as it was. If Kusaka saw him with red eyes the bullying would be a million times worse. He wondered then if Gin had been bullied at school too.

With all these traits in common, Toshiro had to assume he was also the genius and prodigy claimed in the manga.

“Gin is my fiancé,” Matsumoto called their attention back and Gin straightened back up behind her. “We’re getting married in March.”

“Sakura season,” Isshin sighed in the way he only signed when he was thinking about Masaki.

“Gin, this is Toshiro,” Matsumoto introduced them properly, still holding Toshiro’s hands. “You’re his favourite character.”

“He’s got wonderful taste,” Gin commented. It was hard to tell from his tone if he was being sarcastic or genuine. “I like his shirt.”

Toshiro was about to respond (with an intelligible ‘huh?’) when Matsumoto’s eyes fell to his t-shirt and she squealed. 

“Aww, it looks like your shirt, Gin,” Matsumoto swooned before she turned her attention back on Toshiro. “He has a dragon tee too, but I stole it and now I wear it to bed.”

Toshiro choked again at the weird compliment and glanced down at his t-shirt. He had chosen the dragon shirt because it was his favourite and he wanted to wear something cool when he thought he was meeting a male manga author. Now, meeting a beautiful woman like _the_ Rangiku Haineko, he definitely should have picked something else – or let Granny choose. Still, apparently she did like it, and even the Gin Shinso liked it! _What was even happening today?_

“T-thank you?” Toshiro asked more than stated, completely taken aback by this whole situation.

Matsumoto beamed him before she let go of his hands, and handed over his manga volume. Toshiro took it back, glancing down at the message she had written. Matsumoto’s scrawl was as elegant and beautiful as she was.

_‘Dear Toshiro,  
Believe in yourself, and shout ‘Bankai!’  
Love, Rangiku Matsumoto (A.K.A Haineko)’_

Toshiro’s slightly trembling fingers ghosted over her writing, feeling his chest tighten. This was his dream, wasn’t it? To meet Matsumoto, whoever they were.

“Thank you,” Toshiro breathed, this time more confidently.

“You’re welcome,” Matsumoto murmured as Toshiro glanced back up at her. “That is a very loved copy, I must say. My old manga used to look like that too.”

“He reads them every day,” Granny commented, much to Toshiro’s embarrassment and Matsumoto appeared to swoon, hand over her heart. She really was every bit as dramatic and theatrical as her character.

“Why are you so scared of me then, huh?” Matsumoto teased, poking Toshiro’s side playfully.

“I wasn’t,” Toshiro huffed, speaking quietly, “I-I wasn’t expecting you to be a girl.”

He wasn’t expecting her to be _the_ Rangiku Haineko either.

“A girl can’t be an author?” Matsumoto raised an eyebrow at him, but she didn’t seem all that mad.

“No, they can,” Toshiro clarified slowly, frown dipping. “It’s just that… well, the girls I know don’t like manga.”

Matsumoto tilted her head at him, “Well I like manga, and you know me.”

Toshiro’s reply was lost on his tongue. He had no argument, though he probably could have pointed out that he didn’t really know Matsumoto, having met her just a few minutes ago.

“I suppose,” he agreed instead, shrugging a little.

Rangiku’s chuckle was playful.

“What do you want to be when you grow up then?” she asked him. “Manga author too?”

“Army captain,” Toshiro answered quickly. “Like my dad was.”

There was a mild flicker of sadness as Matsumoto registered the past tense and Isshin squeezed Toshiro’s shoulder.

“Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya,” Matsumoto let it roll off her tongue, recovering. She grinned at him. “It suits you.”

Toshiro nodded. It should, it was his father’s name too.

“Well Captain,” Matsumoto grinned at him, standing finally. In her heels, she was as tall as Gin. “You’re a very handsome young man, so don’t let these girls that don’t like manga scare you.”

Toshiro flushed brightly, choking on his own spit.

“I keep telling him that,” Isshin chuckled.

“Good,” Matsumoto beamed at Isshin before she reached down to pinch Toshiro’s cheek gently. “One day you’ll meet the perfect girl – or boy – who will love everything about you.”

Toshiro sighed, his eyes sliding for a moment to Karin as the dark haired twin sat on a bean bag in the corner, her new soccer book open in her lap. He couldn’t help it as a slight smile pulled at his lips.

When he glanced back to Matsumoto, she was smirking widely, but whatever she was thinking she left unsaid.

“There’s the smile I was looking for,” she said instead, her own smile warm and her eyes twinkling under the light. “It was very lovely to meet you, Toshiro.”

Gin had his hand on her back, his cheeky expression unchanged as he seemed to watch Toshiro through closed eyes too.

“Thank you, Miss Matsumoto,” Toshiro bowed, his newly signed manga held tightly in both hands as he did so, and she ruffled his hair when he straightened.

Matsumoto and Gin said goodbye to Toshiro and everyone else before they wandered off, hand in hand, back to the ‘staff only’ door they must have come through. The second they were gone from view, Toshiro found himself surrounded by his friends and family who wanted to see his new manga and congratulate him on getting to talk to his hero – both heroes.

Toshiro very quickly found himself worming his way back into Granny’s side, not quite comfortable with all the attention and in need of a warm grandmotherly hug to ground his rapidly becoming overwhelmed thoughts and emotions.

Eventually they backed off a little, and Isshin ushered the group out of the bookstore.

“Family dinner tomorrow night, Mrs Hitsugaya?” Isshin asked Granny as he walked her, Toshiro and Momo to the bus stop.

“Of course,” Granny replied. “I’ll be able to take the girls hems down for Monday morning.”

“I can’t believe how fast they’re growing,” Isshin chuckled, patting Yuzu’s head as she walked on his other side.

Toshiro pouted, knowing he was growing the slowest out of all of the kids. He was probably always going to be the shortest, even though he was the same age as the twins.

“Hey,” Karin called, catching up to Toshiro.

He glanced at her, expecting her to say more to him but she didn’t. She just grinned and grabbed his hand. Toshiro flushed brightly and the twin rolled her eyes, continuing to walk like nothing was new.

Toshiro felt his heart flutter.

Today was incredible. He had met the legendary Matsumoto, and by extension, _the_ Rangiku Haineko, who he had believed only existed in fiction. He had also met _the_ Gin Shinso – how many people could say they had actually met their favourite manga character? And just when he thought his day couldn’t get much better, Karin held his hand! Just like Ichigo and Rukia did.

It was all so unbelievable.

* * *

Two months after Toshiro met Rangiku Matsumoto, he received a very interesting parcel in the mail.

“This came for you today,” Granny told him, handing him the package. “Looks like a birthday present.”

They were sat together on the couch after dinner. Momo was upstairs in her room, and Toshiro had just had his bath. He sat with Granny by the fire, reading his book for class, while she brushed the knots out of his damp hair.

Frowning, Toshiro took the parcel in his hands. Who would be sending him mail?

He saw the writing on the front, his name and address in her elegant scrawl, and gasped loudly. It was Matsumoto’s writing – Toshiro had stared at his signed manga enough to know exactly what her writing looked like.

“It’s from Matsumoto,” he told Granny, his voice shocked.

“Well open it!” Granny encouraged him. The hair brush was put down and her arms came around Toshiro, her chin resting on his shoulder as she watched him open the parcel.

Curious and desperate to know what she had sent him, Toshiro ripped open the package and immediately a card fell out. Pausing, Toshiro placed the parcel in his lap and reached for the card. He turned it over, immediately trembling again. Granny squeezed him gently.

“What does it say?”

“Dear Toshiro,” Toshiro read in a shaky voice. “A little birdy told me it was your birthday soon and I wanted to get this to you before Christmas. I have put my mailing address on the back, please let me know what you think.”

Toshiro turned back over the card, seeing now the small postal address scrawled across the back.

He glanced back down at the parcel. Maybe she had sent him the latest volume for his birthday? It wasn’t due to be released until the day after Christmas though!

He placed the card safely on the coffee table beside them and reached back for the parcel. Excited, Toshiro reached in, feeling the familiar feel of a glossy manga cover, and pulled the volume out. He was grinning stupidly, unable to believe he had got the latest volume prior to its’ release and as a gift, but he stopped dead seeing the front cover.

It was him.

Every volume had a different character on the front cover, but this one had a manga drawn version of him!

“Wow,” Granny breathed over his shoulder but Toshiro was speechless.

He looked… _cool?!_

The manga cover was coloured, so he could see he was drawn exactly like he looked. Pale skin, whiter hair, blue-teal eyes. Matsumoto had left off the glasses, which Toshiro was thankful for. Even though he was clearly still a short kid, she made him look fierce. She made him look strong and powerful.

Behind the boy, a big blue dragon with red eyes – his character’s Zanpakuto form! It was roaring, it large wings stretched out. After a moment, Toshiro realised it was made of ice!

In the bottom right corner of the front cover, there were words that popped, reading: ‘Introducing Toshiro Hyorinmaru, Dragon Shapeshifter!’

Okay, if Toshiro hadn’t died that day in the bookstore, he had certainly died tonight. This time he had gone to Heaven, not Hell.

Opening it up, Toshiro found Matsumoto’s familiar scrawl again on the inside cover.

_‘Happy birthday, Toshiro! You have inspired me. Love, Rangiku Matsumoto (A.K.A. Haineko)’_

Toshiro was beaming, he couldn’t help it. This was the best gift he could ever receive!

That night, Toshiro sat with Granny and read the yet-to-be-released volume of ‘Zanpakuto: Legends of the Seireitei’. Ten pages in and they were introduced to ‘Toshiro Hyorinmaru’, a dragon shapeshifter and the younger cousin of Gin Shinso. He was quiet but intelligent, and incredibly powerful, plotting out his battle strategies moves ahead of his opponent. As a dragon, he was huge and intimidating, tearing down Hollows with ease.

Rangiku Haineko’s character immediately took a liking to him, and tried to hug him in her chest (that made the real Toshiro blush brightly and Granny to chuckle). Rangiku’s character gave Toshiro the nickname ‘Captain’ because of his leadership abilities in battle.

By the end of the volume, Toshiro almost forgot the character was him. He was so cool, it didn’t make any sense – and yet he _was_ Toshiro, he had albinism and he only came to Rangiku’s hip in height.

Toshiro Hyorinmaru, even in his human form, was _awesome!_

And if Toshiro Hyorinmaru was really just Toshiro Hitsugaya, then maybe Toshiro Hitsugaya was just as awesome?

Toshiro swallowed and nodded, closing the volume when they were finished. His back straightened, coming to that conclusion.

Maybe it was okay being a short Albino. Maybe it was okay being a nerd and a dork with bug eyes.

Maybe it was okay being _Toshiro._


End file.
